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OCALAN EXTENDS HAND TO ARMENIANS
AL-MONITOR
Feb 17 2014
Author: Orhan Kemal Cengiz, February 17, 2014
Although important figures of the Kurdish movement such as Osman
Baydemir and Altan Tan make statements from time to time addressing
the Armenian genocide and extending a hand to Armenians, remarks by
Abdullah Ocalan last year create questions about how the Kurds view
the Armenian issue.
In one statement, Ocalan said, "There are three-pronged parallel
state schemes in Turkey. These are sabotaging relations. They are
not run-of-the-mill lobbies. Jewish, Armenian and Greek lobbies in
the United States are interfering strategically and tactically. All
three originate from Anatolia."
Although these words irritated Armenians and non-Muslims living in
Turkey, they did not erupt into a major debate.
But on Jan. 9, 2013, after the assassination of three Kurdish women
in Paris, Bese Hozat, a leader of the Union of Kurdish Communities,
expanded on Ocalan's remarks in harsher tones and led to furious
reactions. In an interview with Argos Jan. 13, Hozat said, "In Turkey,
in addition to the official state, there are parallel states. For
example, the Gulen Movement is a parallel state. The Israeli lobby,
nationalist Armenians and Greek lobbies are parallel states. These
parallel states have serious common interests that they share." These
words caused anger among the non-Muslims in Turkey, particularly
Armenians.
The Democratic Peoples Party (HDP), a leftist and predominantly
Kurdish coalition with Armenian members, was seriously affected by
Hozat's remarks. The Armenians of the HDP reacted to Hozat's words and
expressed their resentment by telling Argos, "The emerging vision is
not a promising one for the HDP's Armenians. To achieve our aspirations
for a free, just country and world, what we should be doing is not
discriminating against each other, but struggling together with all
the oppressed. The peace and peace process that we are also working
to achieve should not mean marginalizing peoples who are not Turks
and Kurds."
This was followed by a joint statement by the co-chairs of the HDP,
Ertugrul Kurkcu and Sebahat Tuncel, in a distinct effort to distance
themselves from Hozat's remarks. They said, "We understand why
our peoples were anxiously with linking the 'parallel state' with
Armenian, Greek and Jewish identities, which have been legally and
politically sidelined from organized society and state and who are the
objects of abhorrent narratives. ... We believe that the revolutionary
spokespersons of the Kurdish people, who have been struggling against
official and unofficial denials and eradication, should opt for a
discourse that will advance the equality of peoples and brotherhood
and consolidate our joint struggle on the land where we live."
Then, something unexpected happened Jan. 30: Ocalan sent a letter
to the Turkish-Armenian language Agos. This seemed to represent a
turning point for Kurdish-Armenians relations.
There are five salient themes of Ocalan's letter to Agos:
Ocalan saying, "The situation of the Armenian people is the full
reality of genocide. It is a miracle that the Armenian people have been
able to come so far despite this genocide. This miracle is undoubtedly
the outcome of great efforts and struggles by the downtrodden Armenian
people." Ocalan was signalling that the Armenian genocide has been
recognized at the highest echelons of the Kurdish movement.
By saying, "The entire world has to come to terms with the historical
reality of the Armenian people and shares their agony. The Turkish
republic has to approach this issue with maturity. Its coming to
terms with bitter history is unavoidable," Ocalan invited the world
and Turkey to recognize the Armenian genocide.
He sent a message to the Armenian diaspora by saying, "It can only be
my modest suggestion to hope the Armenian people will persevere in
their struggle by avoiding racist-nationalist traps and maintaining
awareness of the sinister goals of international capitalists and
lobbies who would like to see our peoples clash for centuries to come."
Ocalan said, "A republic crowned with democracy will be a republic
that has come to terms with its past, where diverse identities can
live freely. Looking at it from this angle, we are struggling for
freedom for not only Kurdish people, but all peoples and beliefs of
this region." This was his way of responding to criticism that in
the peace process between the Turkish government and the Kurdistan
Workers Party, Kurds were focusing only on their own interests and
were aloof from the larger struggle for democracy in Tyrkey.
He portrayed the Kurdish struggle as one of all peoples in Turkey
by saying, "Our 30 years of struggle is the proof that my search for
peace that I have been trying to sustain, despite my tough conditions,
cannot be against any people."
He declared, "While we are in an unyielding struggle for the benefit
of all peoples, I have to invite everyone to be aware of the entire
spectrum of deep, open, parallel structures, lobbies and faith
movements that are trying to make us fail and assess all developments
objectively." With these words he extracted the Armenians from the
parallel state concept while confirming the Kurdish perception of
the Gulen faith community as an adversary and a rival.
Comments by Armenian intellectuals on Ocalan's letter indicated that
Turkey's Armenian community was pleased by the letter. For example,
Ohannes Kilicdag said Ocalan adopted a position "way above the norms of
Turkey's politics when it comes to coming to terms with the Armenian
genocide." Karin Karakasli said, "Ocalan's call on Turkish Republic
to come to terms with history and his warning to all people against
traps of nationalism ate vital." Hayko Bagdat noted Ocalan's letter
was "courageous and constructive about genocide."
Ocalan's letter seemed to have turned a new page between the Kurds and
Armenians of Turkey. It is beyond doubt that the Kurdish movement will
adopt a much clearer position on the Armenian genocide issue. But it
is not realistic to expect Ocalan's words to have a bearing on the
Turkish government's refusal to acknowledge the Armenian genocide.
In any case, Ocalan's letter to the Armenians is a historical document
now. But it is not easy to predict its long-term affects.
http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2014/02/ocalan-armenians-genocide-kurds-acknowledgement-relationship.html#
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
AL-MONITOR
Feb 17 2014
Author: Orhan Kemal Cengiz, February 17, 2014
Although important figures of the Kurdish movement such as Osman
Baydemir and Altan Tan make statements from time to time addressing
the Armenian genocide and extending a hand to Armenians, remarks by
Abdullah Ocalan last year create questions about how the Kurds view
the Armenian issue.
In one statement, Ocalan said, "There are three-pronged parallel
state schemes in Turkey. These are sabotaging relations. They are
not run-of-the-mill lobbies. Jewish, Armenian and Greek lobbies in
the United States are interfering strategically and tactically. All
three originate from Anatolia."
Although these words irritated Armenians and non-Muslims living in
Turkey, they did not erupt into a major debate.
But on Jan. 9, 2013, after the assassination of three Kurdish women
in Paris, Bese Hozat, a leader of the Union of Kurdish Communities,
expanded on Ocalan's remarks in harsher tones and led to furious
reactions. In an interview with Argos Jan. 13, Hozat said, "In Turkey,
in addition to the official state, there are parallel states. For
example, the Gulen Movement is a parallel state. The Israeli lobby,
nationalist Armenians and Greek lobbies are parallel states. These
parallel states have serious common interests that they share." These
words caused anger among the non-Muslims in Turkey, particularly
Armenians.
The Democratic Peoples Party (HDP), a leftist and predominantly
Kurdish coalition with Armenian members, was seriously affected by
Hozat's remarks. The Armenians of the HDP reacted to Hozat's words and
expressed their resentment by telling Argos, "The emerging vision is
not a promising one for the HDP's Armenians. To achieve our aspirations
for a free, just country and world, what we should be doing is not
discriminating against each other, but struggling together with all
the oppressed. The peace and peace process that we are also working
to achieve should not mean marginalizing peoples who are not Turks
and Kurds."
This was followed by a joint statement by the co-chairs of the HDP,
Ertugrul Kurkcu and Sebahat Tuncel, in a distinct effort to distance
themselves from Hozat's remarks. They said, "We understand why
our peoples were anxiously with linking the 'parallel state' with
Armenian, Greek and Jewish identities, which have been legally and
politically sidelined from organized society and state and who are the
objects of abhorrent narratives. ... We believe that the revolutionary
spokespersons of the Kurdish people, who have been struggling against
official and unofficial denials and eradication, should opt for a
discourse that will advance the equality of peoples and brotherhood
and consolidate our joint struggle on the land where we live."
Then, something unexpected happened Jan. 30: Ocalan sent a letter
to the Turkish-Armenian language Agos. This seemed to represent a
turning point for Kurdish-Armenians relations.
There are five salient themes of Ocalan's letter to Agos:
Ocalan saying, "The situation of the Armenian people is the full
reality of genocide. It is a miracle that the Armenian people have been
able to come so far despite this genocide. This miracle is undoubtedly
the outcome of great efforts and struggles by the downtrodden Armenian
people." Ocalan was signalling that the Armenian genocide has been
recognized at the highest echelons of the Kurdish movement.
By saying, "The entire world has to come to terms with the historical
reality of the Armenian people and shares their agony. The Turkish
republic has to approach this issue with maturity. Its coming to
terms with bitter history is unavoidable," Ocalan invited the world
and Turkey to recognize the Armenian genocide.
He sent a message to the Armenian diaspora by saying, "It can only be
my modest suggestion to hope the Armenian people will persevere in
their struggle by avoiding racist-nationalist traps and maintaining
awareness of the sinister goals of international capitalists and
lobbies who would like to see our peoples clash for centuries to come."
Ocalan said, "A republic crowned with democracy will be a republic
that has come to terms with its past, where diverse identities can
live freely. Looking at it from this angle, we are struggling for
freedom for not only Kurdish people, but all peoples and beliefs of
this region." This was his way of responding to criticism that in
the peace process between the Turkish government and the Kurdistan
Workers Party, Kurds were focusing only on their own interests and
were aloof from the larger struggle for democracy in Tyrkey.
He portrayed the Kurdish struggle as one of all peoples in Turkey
by saying, "Our 30 years of struggle is the proof that my search for
peace that I have been trying to sustain, despite my tough conditions,
cannot be against any people."
He declared, "While we are in an unyielding struggle for the benefit
of all peoples, I have to invite everyone to be aware of the entire
spectrum of deep, open, parallel structures, lobbies and faith
movements that are trying to make us fail and assess all developments
objectively." With these words he extracted the Armenians from the
parallel state concept while confirming the Kurdish perception of
the Gulen faith community as an adversary and a rival.
Comments by Armenian intellectuals on Ocalan's letter indicated that
Turkey's Armenian community was pleased by the letter. For example,
Ohannes Kilicdag said Ocalan adopted a position "way above the norms of
Turkey's politics when it comes to coming to terms with the Armenian
genocide." Karin Karakasli said, "Ocalan's call on Turkish Republic
to come to terms with history and his warning to all people against
traps of nationalism ate vital." Hayko Bagdat noted Ocalan's letter
was "courageous and constructive about genocide."
Ocalan's letter seemed to have turned a new page between the Kurds and
Armenians of Turkey. It is beyond doubt that the Kurdish movement will
adopt a much clearer position on the Armenian genocide issue. But it
is not realistic to expect Ocalan's words to have a bearing on the
Turkish government's refusal to acknowledge the Armenian genocide.
In any case, Ocalan's letter to the Armenians is a historical document
now. But it is not easy to predict its long-term affects.
http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2014/02/ocalan-armenians-genocide-kurds-acknowledgement-relationship.html#
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress